The song “Tamid Ohev Oti”  – more commonly known as “Od Yoter Tov” – which recently burst into the chareidi world, is being sung in various places, including weddings and other simchos.
However, in recent weeks, a wide debate has emerged surrounding the song and its lyrics. In some locations, including yeshivas and chadorim, the song has been prohibited.
The song was composed by Rav Shalom Arush of “Chut Shel Chesed. Last weekend, in an extensive article in the weekend supplement of Yediot Achronot, journalist Shila Fried quoted the words of Rav Arush, who said that the song was born from the messages he regularly conveys to his talmidim during his shiurim.
“Rav Arush says that whoever believes in this and sings it – will truly have only good,” his students tell Yediot Achronot. “Just like a child believes his father always loves him, and if the father sees the child running into the street, he will grab him tightly – it’s clear to everyone that this is because he loves him and wants him to be safe. In the same way, we must believe that everything Hashem does is because He loves us and wants what’s best for us, and He will never disappoint us.”

For Rav Arush, this current hit song represents the completion of a quiet revolution he began – bringing the messages of faith from his shiurim and seforim into every home in Israel.
“It was a year of miracles and wonders,” Rav Arush said to his students during a closing shiur on the past year of war. “We saw greater miracles than the Exodus from Egypt. They threw thousands of missiles at us, and we saw open miracles, how Hashem protects us. But the greatest miracle of the past year is that all of Israel believes in Hashem. Everyone is singing ‘Hashem Yisbarach always loves me and will always do good for me.’ Everyone – even the little children. All my life I worked hard to teach faith to the people of Israel – I traveled, gave lectures, and worked hard. For several years I’ve been singing this song, but Hashem surprised me. The song caught on, and all of Israel believes. It has become the anthem for everyone.”
On the other hand, some have shed a different light on the song’s lyrics, even calling it “heresy,” include Rav Avrohom Deutsch, the head of the Beis Din of Maale Adumim. In his sefer on Derech Eretz Rabbah, which was released for the occasion of his son’s Bar Mitzvah, he refers to the song recently popularized.
In his introduction, Rav Deutsch writes: “And we have seen how the removal of knowledge in the ‘hidden ways of Derech Eretz’ leads to spiritual downfall and distorted beliefs. For several decades, a new generation has grown up that has not known or studied the foundations of our tradition, and for over ten years, new songs have emerged every day in the spoken language, without sources from Torah verses, Tehillim, the tefillos of the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah, or the pens of the great sages of our generations, but instead from the depths of hell of empty and frivolous people. And these are the songs sung even at weddings of the righteous and complete.
“Just a few days ago,” Rav Deutsch continues, “I was at a wedding hall where the chosson was singing a new song, and the main chorus was something like, ‘It will be even better, even better, and even better, and even better…’ And a wise man sitting next to me asked if I knew the source of this song. I replied that I did not know and this was the first time I had heard it, but what I do know is that it is either borderline heresy or outright heresy.”
Rav Deutsch explains that the person next to him was very surprised: “But this is such a positive and beautiful song, and it’s sung at all weddings, in all girls’ schools and boys’ Torah schools. It’s even in the ringtones on phones, why say it’s heresy?”
Rav Deutsch answered, citing the words of the Chafetz Chaim zt”l, who wrote: “It is permissible to say that a person has experienced a bitter event, for even a remedy for a person’s good can be bitter. However, it is impossible to say that anything is bad, because whatever Hakadosh Boruch Hu does is for the good. The Chafetz Chaim once recommended a person for a spiritual leadership position at a famous yeshiva, and as he was on his way there to thank the Chafetz Chaim for his recommendation, he was asked by the Chafetz Chaim how he felt, to which he answered, ‘A few more pennies wouldn’t hurt.’ The Chafetz Chaim replied: ‘Surely it would hurt. Hashem, the Merciful One, in His desire to do good for you, has not given it to you, and it’s clear that this is the best situation for you.’”
He continued, explaining the statement of Chazal regarding Sarah Imeinu that all the years of her life were “equal for good,” meaning that even though she went through various trials, including being taken by Paroh and Avimelech, she always believed that everything that happened to her was for her best. And in the sefer Otzros Ramchal, it is written, “Everything that happens – could not be better than this!”
“Thus, anyone who says, without understanding, ‘It will be even better, even better,’ reveals that they do not believe that what Hashem does is the best thing, and this is heresy and a fundamental flaw in the belief of Klal Yisroel that ‘whatever the Merciful One does, He does for the good.’ We have never heard from our sages a phrase like this, and those who think that by singing in Hebrew, they somehow sanctify the heresy in the words, are mistaken. We have reached a generation of upheaval, may Hashem have mercy, where they sanctify what our sages distanced themselves from.”
Rav Deutsch shares that he proposed his views to Rav Azriel Auerbach, the noted posek, who responded: “It is written, ‘Give thanks to Hashem for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.’ This means that a person’s situation is always good, and Hashem only sends good. The words of the Chafetz Chaim are simple and clear.” Regarding the song, Rav Auerbach said that he recognized it and added, “We must cancel this song.”
Later, Rav Deutsch recounts that one of the mashgichim, after hearing the lyrics of the song, asked in amazement: “Did someone who keeps Torah and mitzvos compose this song?! For this is against the very foundation of the Chafetz Chaim’s teachings.”
Rav Deutsch concluded: “According to what I’ve heard, this song has become widely accepted, even among the righteous, in a way that has not been seen in many years. In the opinion of the Chafetz Chaim and his disciples, it is clear that this is the power of the sitra achra (evil inclination), may Hashem have mercy, that has succeeded in breaking through the boundaries of the purest places, bringing confusion to the minds of all pure Jewish hearts around the world, especially among the younger generation, whose speech is usually pure.”
“Due to the lack of understanding and common sense, people, unintentionally and in the name of Hashem, introduce words of doubt into the faith into schools for both boys and girls, and to all homes and children of Klal Yisroel. Sometimes it can become a distortion that cannot be corrected. It is clear to anyone who fears and trembles before the word of Hashem that we must not utter words that not only create doubts in faith but also go against the simple faith passed down to us from our ancestors.
“Of course, it is a great merit, and fortunate is the person who purifies himself and his home with words of faith and joy, and distances himself from any impurity or corruption that could destroy the uplifting spirit of the homes of Yisroel, which strive to walk in the ways of Hashem in simplicity. Hashem is merciful and will forgive our sins, and to Hashem is the salvation.”
The first person to stir the controversy surrounding the song was Kolmus editor Rav Yisrael A. Grobice, who wrote in his column in the Mishpacha magazine two weeks ago: “Recently, a massive ‘hit’ exploded in the world. Millions are singing enthusiastically that Hashem loves them and will always make them well, and even better and better (there’s also a version in Yiddish and apparently even in Korean).
“The truth is,” he wrote, “this reflects a simplistic worldview and is not necessarily accurate. Maran HaChazon Ish wrote in his sefer Emunah U’Bitachon that this is a ‘long-standing mistake that has entered the hearts of many in the concept of ‘Bitachon.’ People think Bitachon means ‘everything will be good.’ But this is not the truth. The second half of the song is accurate. ‘Hashem Yisbarach loves me.’ However, the derivation of ‘It will always be good for me’ might be a great prayer, but it is not part of the fundamentals of faith. ‘The matter of Bitachon is the trust that there is no randomness in the world, and everything under the sun happens with a declaration from Hashem.’ This may seem like a trivial nuance, but it’s exactly the point. The fundamentals of faith are too serious to be acquired through popular tunes from the masses. It’s better that at least our children know that when it comes to faith, it’s time to put down the guitar and open the books.”
These words sparked a full-fledged debate, and this week, Grobice had to acknowledge that this is a dispute among earlier authorities, and it may be that according to the words of Rabbeinu Bachya in Chovos HaLevavos, part of the mitzvah of Bitachon is to believe and hope that it will be good. Readers pointed out that this is the path of Chassidus.
But Grobice concluded his thoughts by writing: “We live in an era of ‘advertising.’ The world around us thinks in slogans. Leaders, marketers, and journalists – all compete to penetrate our minds. And they know that the quickest way is through short and catchy phrases. We swallow them without even realizing. They enter our consciousness without us stopping to think about them. When a person reads a deep article, they stop occasionally to think. But when we hear a short, catchy tune, it seems insignificant.”
“For example, here is a song that is completely tied to a deep faith-based message. Before we start jumping to its tunes, it’s advisable to study the words and sources.”
{Matzav.com Israel}